Innovation
Net Migration of the Young, Single and College-Educated Population
Description: This indicator measures the migration patterns of young (25-39), single, and college-educated (YSCE) people across the United States between 1995 and 2000. This was a special tabulation produced by the Census Bureau from the 2000 census.
The YSCE data are displayed on the dashboard for all states in two ways; both are based on domestic migration only. The first figure is calculated in each state as (the YSCE share of total in-migration to the state) minus (the YSCE share of total out-migration from the state). For example, total domestic in-migration to Arizona between 1995 and 2000 was 796,420, of which 4.38 percent (34,850) were YSCE. Total domestic out-migration from Arizona was 480,272, of which 5.33 percent was YSCE. Subtracting 5.33 from 4.38 is –0.95, or –1.0 rounded.
The second figure is calculated as YSCE in-migration in each state as a share of the sum of YSCE in-migration over all states — this figure is affected by state size. For example, Arizona’s 34,850 YSCE domestic in-migrants was 2.5 percent of the nearly 1.4 million YSCE who moved from one state to a different state.
Rationale: A central theme of the economic literature on regional economic growth is the importance of high-quality human capital in the workforce. Overall migration is an indicator of the attractiveness of an area for people to live and work. Of more relevance to innovation is the migration of educated and skilled workers. This measure provides one perspective.
Data Source: The 2000 Census by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/migration.html.
Comments on the Quality of the Data: Coming from the long-form questionnaire of the decennial census, the data are subject to sampling error. The magnitude of the error may be significant in the flows to and from less-populous states. The data are based on place of residence in 2000 compared to 1995. If a person moved more than once during this period, the interim move(s) is not reflected in the data.
